If you’re new to the plant-based lifestyle, you might not have heard about the classic staple, cashew cream. This simple concoction can work wonders in the kitchen. It makes a nice neutral base to replace cheese, cream, sour cream, and more in recipes like casseroles, pizzas, pasta dishes, tacos, sandwiches, wraps and sauces. Plus, it makes a wonderful, flavorful dip or spread, once you add a few ingredients to jazz it up.

You can make this for savory dishes, such as tacos, casseroles, or enchiladas.

Or make a slightly sweeter cashew cream for sweeter dishes, such as fruit desserts, cream-filled pies and pastries, fruit dips, and sweet toppings. It’s so easy to make cashew cream, too. With essentially three ingredients—cashews, water, and lemons—you can make up a batch, and then add other ingredients to make it sweet (agave, vanilla) or savory (garlic, pepper, sea salt). Make a batch and keep it in the fridge all week long to use in your favorite dishes, including lasagna, pizza, tacos, fruit pies and parfaits all week long.

Follow along with my step-by-step guide for how to make cashew cream below.

Step-By-Step Guide:

Place soaked, drained cashews in a blender with lemon juice, water, and optional ingredients. Process cashews in blender until very smooth.

Get the full recipe for cashew cream here.

Try one of my favorite plant-based recipes using this plant-based staple:

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